The machines are built from scratch by the members of the newly reformed James Cook University Robotics and Electronics Club.

Club president Chris Roberts says with robotics so pervasive in modern life there was a real need for a club in north Queensland.

"The event itself is really just a tool to make robotics and electronics fun.

The skills that people learn in building these robots will set them up for any electronics project they want to do," he said.

The infra red technology the robots use to navigate is similar to that used by robotic vacuum cleaners and enables the machine to differentiate between black and white to stay on track.

The racing robots are pretty basic and even a beginner can get one up and running in just a couple of hours.

"It's great because people are coming in and they are apprehensive and they are nervous... and after an hour people are putting things together and up to their elbows in components and that's why the club exists."

The Robot Wars time trials and straight-line drag events will be held on Thursday May 1 and Thursday May 15 with the final all-in clash on May 30 at 3:00pm.